Newsletter

Posted July 31, 2014 12:42 pm

Madison County blotter

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:

HARASSMENT: On July 21, Lt. Klint Segars was dispatched to meet with a pregnant woman in regards to harassing telephone calls. The woman has been receiving telephone text messages from people who tell her she might lose her baby. She doesn’t know who is sending the messages. The woman is planning for a “gender reveal party” in the nearby future and one messenger sent a text that they were coming to the party to cause a disturbance. She asked for an officer to attend the party, but she was advised to contact law enforcement in Clarke County because the party is planned at a location there.

GUITAR MAN: On July 23, Deputy Larry MacKay responded to Allen Road near Ila to assist the Ila Volunteer Fire Department after a report came in about a grass fire. When MacKay arrived, he spoke with Fire Chief Keith Lord who explained they were unable to locate any fires. However, Christopher Snow, the man who called in the fire report, was sitting nearby on a cement block strumming his guitar.

When questioned, Snow explained he just called in a false fire report so the police would respond and he could file a theft report. Snow claimed someone stole an air conditioner and some toys. When Snow finished explaining the situation, the deputy placed him under arrest and took him to jail on a charge of transmitting a false report of a fire.

BURGLARY: On July 22, Deputy Bradley Osborne was dispatched to Ferndale Court, where someone was reported to be stealing items from a vacant house. A resident of the neighborhood came home and saw three young men running from the back of the house. The deputy checked and found a bathroom window knocked out and the door jam broke on the back door. A ladder was found removed from the house and laying in the yard, along with a paint sprayer. The deputy checked the nearby woods, where the suspects had run, but the burglars were nowhere to be found.

HARASSMENT: On July 21, Deputy Bradley Scott met with a woman who said her husband had made a threatening telephone call. She said her husband, whom she is divorcing, threatened to beat her. He sounded as if he was drunk.

DAMAGE: On July 22, a deputy was dispatched to Norwood Circle, Hull, where a woman reported someone sprayed her new fence with a white substance, put something inside a lock on the gate, and did some damage to her pickup. She also said someone disconnected the power to her refrigerator causing her to lose $300 in food. The intruder also shaved the fur off the back legs of her dog. The deputy examined the dog, but couldn’t detect any shaving. She also claimed mold was intentionally placed on her outdoor furniture.

CELL PHONE STOLEN: On July 22, Deputy Larry MacKay met with a woman who said her son’s cellphone was stolen from a backpack while he was at Madison County High School doing some weight training. The phone can be tracked, but the person who has the phone has not turned it on.

COW STOLEN: On July 23, Deputy Chris Haston was dispatched to a farm off Jot Em Down Road, where a man said someone entered his property and stole a black Angus cow. The man found a fence torn down and vehicle tracks where the thief drove into the field.

DAMAGE: On July 24, Deputy James Justice was dispatched to Bishop Carey Road for a disturbance after a witness said he saw a woman being kicked. The deputy arrived and found a vehicle with the rear glass window shattered. A woman at the house said she had argued with her husband and that he pushed her causing her to fall to the ground. The man broke the vehicle’s window with a machete. A warrant is expected to be signed for the arrest of the 25-year-old man.

IMPERSONATION: On July 24, Deputy Justin Hanley was dispatched to Smith Road, where a woman said she received a telephone call from a man saying he was a Barrow County Sheriff’s deputy and that two warrants had been issued for her arrest because she failed to report for jury duty. The woman told the caller that she was more than 70 years old and she didn’t even live in Barrow County.

However, the man advised her she needed to put $457 on a Green Dot card, then call him back and give him in the pin number. The deputy called the number left by the man and it went to a tractor dealership in Atlanta. The deputy also contacted the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office in regards to the scam.

THEFT: On July 24, Deputy Justin Hanley was dispatched to Jot Em Down Road, where a woman said she woke up this morning and her medications were missing. The woman said she is taking medications that leave her forgetful and confused. This was the fourth time the woman had reported her pills stolen.

THEFT: On July 24, Deputy Justin Hanley met with a woman who said was moving from her home on Peach Orchard Road, Danielsville, and during the process someone stole a filing cabinet she had placed on the front porch.

FRAUD: On July 24, a Hardman Morris Road resident reported he received a text message from a person asking for his Social Security number. He thought it was his roommate, so he texted the number back. He later found out the roommate had never asked for the number and he has no idea to whom he sent the information.

MONEY MISSING: On July 24, Deputy Chris Haston met with a woman on Ivy Street in regards to a theft. The woman said a friend came over and while they visited on the front porch, she had to go inside and use the bathroom. When she returned, she noticed that her friend was leaving. She looked in her purse and noticed that her change was missing.

PILLS MISSING: On July 25, Deputy James Justice met with a woman on Wildcat Bridge Road, who reported that over a period of months, someone had stolen at least 62 various pain pills. The woman said a trail camera was secretly set up in the house and it showed the home health care nurse rummaging through a dresser and a chest. The woman said she then hid the pills, but on this day she checked the camera and the memory card had been removed. The nurse was contacted and told to return the card.

MAN CHARGED: On July 25, Sgt. Josh Smith was dispatched to Beverly Lane, Hull, where a man said his brother confronted him with a steak knife and threatened to kill him. The brother was also cussing. When questioned by the deputy, the offender admitted having the knife, but said he was only playing with it. James A. Vinson, 36, was charged with disorderly conduct.

LOITERING: ON July 25, Deputy Kyle Roberts was dispatched to Brownwood Drive, Hull, where a man was reported to be firing a handgun. The deputy arrived and saw 61-year-old Dennis L. Gabriel holding a flashlight and looking around in a yard. When the deputy stopped, Gabriel walked over to his white Ford Ranger and attempted multiple times to open the door, but it appeared locked. When the deputy approached, Gabriel explained that he was looking for three men who had attempted to come onto his property.

Another resident of the area said he saw Gabriel walking in yards, but never saw anyone else. The man claimed he saw Gabriel fire two gunshots.

Gabriel denied having a firearm and the deputy could not find one on him. He was charged with loitering.

FORGERY: On July 25, Investigator Doug Martin was dispatched to the Danielsville branch of First Citizens Bank where an employee said a man came in and tried to cash two checks that belong to a bank customer. The woman said she was suspicious of the checks because the signatures did not look like the customer’s signature. The woman said she kept the checks and the suspect left the bank. The checks turned out to be stolen and forged.

DISPUTE ENDS: On July 26, Deputy Brandon Hanley was dispatched to Sunray Hatchery Road for a 911 hang up call. The deputy arrived and learned the residents are having a dispute and were arguing over a set of keys. While making a 911 call, the suspect took the phone from her hand. Charles D. Scogin, 41, of Commerce, admitted taking the phone from the woman, and was charged with hindering a person making a 911 call.

PEDESTRIAN ARRESTED: On July 26, Lt. Klinton Segars was dispatched to Grady Drive, where an intoxicated man was acting disorderly. While traveling to the house, the deputy learned the suspect had left on a bicycle in the direction of Woodale Street. Deputies located the man who was told several times to move his bike to the roadside. Salvador J. Almaraz, 47, of Hull, was charged with being a pedestrian under the influence.

DISORDERLY WOMAN: On July 26, Deputy Chad Parr was dispatched to a home on Childers Road for a disorderly woman. When the officer arrived, Karla D. Ward was sitting on the porch with a bottle of beer in her hand and an open bottle of vodka on the steps beside her. The officer discussed the problem with those at the house, then as he began leaving, Ward told him to get off his property. Ward, 47, of Colbert, was charged with disorderly conduct.

SCAN MISSING: On July 27, Deputy Bradley Osborne was dispatched to a home on Virginia Lane, Hull, where a man said someone entered his home while he was taking a walk and stole a computer disc that has information on a cat scan of his brain. The man said his address book is also missing.

THEFT: On July 27, Deputy Larry MacKay was dispatched to Cliff Griffith Road, where a man and woman reported someone entered the property and stole a gas can, a hedge trimmer and battery charger.

ENTERING AUTO: On July 27, Deputy Larry MacKay was dispatched to Spratlin Mill Road, where a man said his daughter’s car had been entered, but he could not tell if anything was missing.

BURGLARY: On July 28, Sgt. Jeff Strickland was dispatched to Jai’s Country Corner on Georgia Highway 106, where the burglary alarm activated about 5 a.m. The front door was broken out, but the officer found that the intruder had entered through a vent in the roof, but fell to the floor inside. The intruder left by breaking the glass from the door. A clerk responded, but could not determine if anything was stolen.

BROACHES MISSING: On July 23, Cpl. Justin Hanley was dispatched to Cherokee Road, where a woman explained she packaged two broaches for mailing and put them in her mailbox about 8 p.m. the previous evening. She put up the red flag, but on this morning she found the package was gone and the mailman does not come until the afternoon.